Alas, it was a moment, a scene, too good to last… and eventually it drew to an end. It was like an idol performance, and the crowd treated it as such, thunderous applause rang loud and long throughout the vicinity.
I forgot they were even competing in the first place, and I was only reminded of it once the scoreboard transitioned in - and after a moment of suspense - with a triumphant jingle, the machine declared Amanda the rightful winner, beating Ash only by a narrow inch.
Needless to say, Amanda was pretty much soaring over the moon about it - whooping, prancing - failing miserably to contain her excitement, not that she was even bothering to try in the first place, juxtaposing the reserve, dignified manner Ash took the loss, expressing only a mildly disappointed sigh before joining the crowd in applause.
I already reazlied I used this chapter title twice now, but goddamn it, it's perfect here, so I'm using it again - stop me!